1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of energy storage, and more particularly, to modular battery applications for power systems, using fast-charging batteries.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors, are capacitors with high capacitance which are used to provide electric energy bursts, i.e., short term high energy pulses. In these applications, supercapacitors are superior to batteries in their ability to deliver much more charge at a shorter time and in their ability to undergo many more charging and discharging cycles. The superior performance in these respects is due to the fact that the operation of supercapacitors is based on electrostatic energy storage while the operation of batteries is based on electrochemical redox reactions, which are generally slower and cause more electrode degradation over time. Supercapacitors are designed in various ways, such as double layer supercapacitors (e.g., electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC)), pseudocapacitors, hybrid capacitors etc.
There is a direct relation between the supercapacitor's physical size to the charge it can store and the energy it can deliver. Typical supercapacitors range from 0.001 Wh of stored energy for dimensions in the scale (order of magnitude) of 1 cm, weight of 1 gr and maximal current of 0.5-1 A (rated capacitance 1F) to 4 Wh of stored energy for dimensions in the scale (order of magnitude) of 10 cm, weight of 500 gr and maximal current reaching 2000A with continuous currents reaching 200A (rated capacitance 3000F). Larger supercapacitors are made of multiple supercapacitor units to store and deliver larger energy ratings.